Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 487 Fake Corpse
This feeling is very strange.

If Frank observes closely, he will find that none of the game covers here are the original covers, because players actually have no concept of "time".

When many game stores release classic old games, they label everything as "classic."

However, the consequence of trying to make everything a classic is that many players will start to back away as soon as they see the game's cover.

The reason is simple: if you simply release these games, they won't match the "white moonlight" in the players' hearts.

Therefore, when Starry Sky presented its products this time, almost all of the covers had been "high-definition" remastered.

On the cover of "Red Alert 2", the Apocalypse Tank's menacing cannon barrel has been redrawn, with the metallic texture and mud marks on the tracks rendered in exquisite detail. In the background, the Kirov airship above the Twin Towers casts a huge shadow, creating a strong sense of oppression.

On the cover of Heroes of Might and Magic III, the archangel's face is no longer a blurry pixel, but rather one that exudes compassion and majesty, with every feather on his holy wings clearly visible, against the backdrop of the mountains and castles of the continent of Erathia.

The cover of "Homeland" depicts a desolate universe, with the massive mothership "Higra" silently floating, its complex structure and lights reflecting off the distant, dazzling nebulae, creating a scene of solitude and magnificence.

These are the "game visuals" that players remember and imagine.

These things are what motivate players to vote. Frank opened Red Alert 2 at any time, and the pages inside were quite interesting.

On the left is a detailed introduction to the game, the original artwork that has been gathering dust, the awards it has received, the source of the Starry Sky copyright, and most importantly, "a message from the original author".

What's that saying again? These games are just old, not dead.

Many of the people who developed these games are no longer in the gaming industry, but they are not dead.

Although most people have lost contact, with so many people involved in a project, you can always find a few of the original developers to speak out.

Most of these words are devoid of any "nutritional value".

It's simply that some people are touched to see that StarCraft is willing to remaster these old games, and they want to garner votes from players. Others say that they still have unfinished ideas from back then, and they hope that StarCraft can fulfill those wishes.

But Frank was genuinely moved by these ordinary words.

It was while reading these words that Frank learned that so many games also have a priority level for remastering. According to StarCraft's plan, the first batch of four games will begin their official remastering program in 2018.

"No wonder David called me."

Frank glanced at the introduction and, almost without hesitation, cast his vote for Red Alert 2. As he clicked, the page refreshed, and a number appeared: 342,117 votes. Along with the vote count, the current ranking was also displayed: [Fourth Place].

The first three are God of War II, Uncharted 2, and Heroes of Might and Magic III.

Following Red Alert 2 are Age of Empires and The Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Frank had no recollection of any of the games except for The Legend of Sword and Fairy, but now these games were like horse races to him.

The number of votes for each game is skyrocketing.

The event's sharing links are everywhere, and for this event, Starcraft has once again chosen the same approach as Azur Lane.

Each player has one vote, and they can get an extra vote by inviting others to participate in the event.

In reality, voting for these old games shouldn't generate that much buzz, but the problem is that every old game has countless loyal fans.

You know, anything that gets involved in voting or rankings...

That would be completely "different," as humans are quite obsessed with ranking everything into one, two, three, four.

From which restaurant has the best fried chicken to which country is the most livable, it seems that as long as there are rankings, the chaotic world will have order.

Just as there are "most beautiful celebrities" in the real world, there are "cutest" anime girls in the world of anime. The same is true in the mobile phone and graphics card industries; every time performance benchmark rankings are updated, they're enough to stir up a fierce battle on forums.

In Japan, this obsession with rankings has even spawned an entire television program category called "Ranking Programs," which are ranking shows.

From "Top 10 Most Popular Desserts in Convenience Stores" to "Top Male Celebrities Housewives Most Want to Marry," everything can be ranked.

This emotional venting mechanism, based on the desire for external validation, can attract countless votes even without any financial incentive.

Not to mention that the current ranking of this "Hall of Fame" can actually determine the reset order.

~~~
"OMG? What's going on with the forums today?"

In France, RetroGamer moderator "Old_King" rubbed his sleepy eyes as he looked at the app's access data, which was practically burning up.

He thought he was still dreaming.

RetroGamer is a classic Western gaming forum that was at its peak more than a decade ago, but it has now completely declined.

This is a retirement forum with an average of no more than fifty users online and a consistently low number of posts.

Yet, this very forum already boasts over five thousand online users, and it's climbing at an alarming rate.

On the homepage, a post made an hour ago by a user with the ID "FrankTheTank" has been pushed to the top, with a simple and direct title.

[The Starry Sky platform is holding a vote on resetting old games! Everyone get up and vote!]

The post content was even simpler; it was just an event link.

But this one post has already garnered over a thousand replies.

"Thank goodness! I thought this forum's server had been taken over to run Minecraft a long time ago! Guys, I'm back!"

"ID: C&C_Forever, last logged in in 2009. Nice to see you oldies. Also, everyone should vote for Red Alert 2, it's an order, not a request. For Yuri!"

"Oh, come on, can you RTS players stop being so violent? Heroes of Might and Magic III is art! All graveyard and tower lovers, unite!"

"Ha, art? Playing a game is like solving math problems, aren't you guys tired? God of War 2 is pure fun! Long live Kratos! Although I know this is a PC forum, classics transcend platforms!"

"Well said! Where are the Uncharted 2 fans? Let's get Nathan Drake into the top four!"

The entire forum was like a fishpond that had been hit by a depth charge; countless "crocodiles" and "giant turtles" who had been lurking for years all surfaced, causing chaos and turmoil.

Behind these IDs might be a company CEO, a car mechanic, or a father changing his child's diaper.

But at this moment, they all turned back into the teenagers they once were, sitting in front of the computer, arguing heatedly over a game.

"My God, look who I found? 'DragonSlayer99'? Didn't you say your wife would smash your graphics card if you ever let her touch games again?"

"Shut up! That's not the point. The point is, Rise of the Dragon is the best building game ever, no arguments allowed!"

"Where are our brothers in Homeworld? We have too few people! Too many enemies! We need support! For Higra! For our lost homeland! Everyone who has played Homeworld owes it a ticket! This is our last chance!"

This kind of fanatical behavior, which is similar to idol voting in fan circles, does not only happen abroad.

Domestically, countless long-dormant QQ groups also "came back to life" at the same time.

(End of this chapter)